The American League's leading slugger is back. Yordan Álvarez is rejoining the Houston Astros ahead of their doubleheader facing the New York Yankees Thursday.
Álvarez hit the 10-day IL ahead of the All-Star break with right hand inflammation on July 10. It was perfect timing for the Astros to miss their leading hitter. With three days off during the break, his absence wasn't as noticeably felt. Though, Houston surely would have liked him back for their series loss against the Oakland Athletics.
Sent down to make way for Álvarez was Jose Siri. He has been rather disappointing on offense in 2022, slashing just .178/.238/.304. Nevertheless, Siri's stellar defense more than make up for his offensive deficiencies as a replacement player.
Álvarez is confirmed as out of the starting lineup for the Astros' first game of Thursday's doubleheader, but it seems likely he'll feature in game two at 5:40 p.m.
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